Thaindian News

New Delhi, August 23 (IANS) The union government has approved setting up of a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu, Minister of State for Chemicals Srikant Kumar Jena said Thursday.

In a written reply, the minister informed parliament that the proposed PCPIR in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts, covering an area of 256.83 sq km, envisages the union government’s support of Rs.2,643 crore. This includes funding for two road projects, desalination and common effluent treatment plants, and money for creation of rail infrastructure.

A PCPIR is a specifically delineated investment region having an area of about 250 sq km, of which at least 40 percent is earmarked for processing activities. This region is a combination of production projects, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection, residential areas and administrative services.

PCPIR is designed to encourage global scale investment in petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in both upstream and downstream segments and help accelerate economic growth.

The PCPIRs could include one or more Special Economic Zones, industrial parks, export oriented units and the like already notified or set up in these areas.

Further, each PCPIR has to have a refinery or a petrochemical feedstock company as an Anchor Tenant, and would have fully developed external infrastructure linkages including rail, road, ports, airports and telecom linkages, which would be developed through public - private partnerships as well as with budgetary support from the government.

Jena said that the government has approved proposals for setting up PCPIRs in the Visakhapatnam-Kakinada region in Andhra Pradesh, at Paradip in Orissa and at Dahej in Gujarat.